Bruce Peters, President & CEO of Mercy Hospitals Bakersfield, Announces Retirement from Dignity Health

BAKERSFIELD, CA (October 12, 2021) – Bruce Peters, President and CEO of Dignity Health Mercy Hospitals Bakersfield, has announced his retirement, effective January 2022. Peters has served as President of the two Bakersfield campuses, Mercy Hospital Downtown and Mercy Hospital Southwest, since 2014 and has been with Dignity Health (formerly CHW) for nearly two decades.

Under Peters’ leadership, Mercy Hospitals have expanded to meet the diverse health care needs of a rapidly growing community. His commitment to improving the patient experience was a driving force in opening the area’s only inpatient oncology unit at the Downtown Campus so that cancer patients and their families could avoid traveling long distances for care. His vision to advance surgical services in the Central Valley was realized with the opening of the S.A. Camp Companies Robotic Surgery Center in 2017, which recently achieved five Centers of Excellence accreditations.

Under his tenure, the opening of the Mercy Orthopedic, Hand and Spine Center on the Mercy Southwest Campus has become the area’s premiere location for comprehensive, state-of-the-art orthopedic care. Mercy Southwest has also seen the expansion of women’s services with the newly opened Women’s Center and Kern County’s first licensed OB emergency department.

“It’s been a true joy serving as the President and CEO for Mercy Hospitals Bakersfield,” shares Bruce Peters, President. “Working alongside the dedicated care teams as they provide high-quality, compassionate care and fulfill our mission, I know Mercy Hospital will continue to be here for every health need, leaving me inspired for what the future will bring.”

The Mercy Hospital Southwest Patient Care Tower Project, slated to break ground later this year, will underline Peters’ legacy. The construction project will include a four-story tower as well as a complete campus remodel, allowing for the expansion of emergency care, oncology and critical care, while adding vital new services, including cardiology and neurosurgery.

Mercy Hospitals Bakersfield is a part of Dignity Health’s Southern California Division. Recruitment for the hospital’s new CEO is underway.

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About Dignity Health Mercy Hospital Bakersfield

Founded by the Sisters of Mercy, Mercy Hospital has a history of caring for our community that goes back more than 100 years. We provide a broad range of medical and surgical services including minimally invasive and outpatient options. Our family of services includes the area's only inpatient oncology unit, the Orthopedic, Spine, and Hand Center, The S.A. Camp Companies Robotic Surgery Center, Family Birth Center and Lactation Support Center, and many others. Mercy Hospital Downtown is a 144-bed facility located in downtown Bakersfield. Mercy Hospital Southwest is a 78-bed facility and the only hospital located in the rapidly growing area west of Highway 99. A member of CommonSpirit Health, Dignity Health Mercy Hospital is a trusted community partner, serving residents of Bakersfield and Kern County with quality, compassionate care since 1910. Learn more at dignityhealth.org/mercybakersfield.